About Us
Welcome! Summer on the Hill (SOH) is a year-round, supplemental enrichment program for promising, low-income public school students from the Bronx, Washington Heights, and Harlem. One of the most sought-after programs in New York City, SOH bridges the gap between public and private education with accelerated academic classes and guidance on school choices.
The public schools in our target areas generally nominate hundreds more students than we can accept. The reason for this interest is that SOH is a successful, long-term program. Our dedicated staff works with the same students from the end of students’ 2nd grade year through high school – for as long as ten years. Housed on the beautiful campus of the Horace Mann School in Riverdale (but a separate 501(c)3 organization), SOH promotes student achievement in a nurturing, calm environment.
SOH consists of two programs:
| - | The core of SOH is its Grade 3-8 program, a six-year commitment for students and families. The Grade 3-8 program includes a yearly six-week summer session bridged by a mandatory 18-session Saturday school year program for all students. Both summer and school-year programs are intensely academic, with accelerated classes in language arts, math, and science. |
| - | The High School Program continues the SOH community for alumni of the Grade 3-8 Program. HS students may participate in SOH’s ACT prep classes, college counseling, college visits, college admissions workshops for students and parents, additional college-readiness classes and activities, and mentoring programs. |
Our students: SOH welcomes boys and girls of all backgrounds who live in the Bronx and Manhattan above 96th Street, are nominated by their public school, and meet SOH admission criteria. Ninety percent of SOH students represent minority groups: 39% of students are of Hispanic origin, 36% are African-American, 12% are Asian (primarily from Bangladesh, China, and India), 8% are white, and 5% are biracial or other ethnicities. Sixty percent of SOH parents do not hold a college degree.
SOH students have been accepted to Bronx Science, Fordham Prep, Horace Mann, and many other excellent boarding, independent, parochial, and public schools. SOH is represented at six Ivy League universities, MIT, and over 125 private and public colleges and universities.
Founded in 1994 by Horace Mann School administrators and an alumnus, SOH has had an impact on the lives of 1,000 NYC students and their families. A certified 501(c)3 organization, SOH is supported by the generosity of private and corporate foundations and individual donors. SOH is deeply grateful for its gift-in-kind from the Horace Man School.